One of the most common reasons that people come to see me is for lower back pain. This lower back pain has been looked at by a doctor and the person has been told that they potentially have Sciatica. However, just because you have lower back pain, this doesn’t always mean that you have sciatica, in fact, this is a common misdiagnosis and I do find it frustrating.

I often see people who have a muscle strain from working out too hard (or not warming up) at the gym, as well as those who are a chef who stands too long on their feet at work. These people come in and say that they have Sciatica. But they don’t.

Sciatica affects the major nerve which travels from your back, down. This means, in order to be definitely sure that you have sciatic pain, you need to have some kind of involvement and pain in your leg. Of course, everyone is different and the pain can be felt in different areas of your leg. That said, the most common sign that you have Sciatica is that you will feel the pain down the back of the leg, as far down as your big toe.

A common belief about the Sciatic nerve is that it simply travels down the back of the leg in one long straight line. However, this isn’t the case. The nerve branches off into a number of directions within the leg, which means that the pain can spread and be felt in different locations.

If you have Sciatica then the pain can be unbearable, at times it can stop you from being able to walk without feeling that you are in the most pain possible.

The pain of Sciatica is caused because the nerve is pinched somewhere along, and it is my job to not only find out where this pinch is, but also to work on it so that it is not the case anymore. I have the right knowledge and experience to be able to help you to figure out the issue that you have, as well as what could be causing it.  We can work with people to ensure that any back problems that they have are diagnosed and treated, whether this is Sciatica or not.

Don’t ever ignore a leg pain and think that taking a painkiller is going to be enough to take it away. You need to see a doctor, you need to see an osteopath in order for them to help you to figure out what you can do to take away the pain in the long-term. You wouldn’t ignore your car making a rattling sound, you would want to find out what was wrong with it and fix it.

Give your body the same level of respect and it will feel much better in the long term.